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Walter Nyamukondiwa

Kariba Bureau

All four people aboard a single-engine Cessna plane survived when they crash-landed in Binga, after the engine failed soon after take off from Kariba on Wednesday.

The four were British and Singaporeans with business interests in the country. The pilot was John Simpson, who is believed to be part owner of the plane, who was travelling with Hugh Napier, Jasmine Koa and her two-year-old son Walter.

Simpson owns a house in Kariba and lives in Singapore. Hugh Napier is a Briton believed to have visited business interests in the Chizarira area on the south-western shores of Lake Kariba. Koa and her son are from Singapore.

The four were lucky to be alive after the engine of the plane, a Cessna C210, registration number ZSIZG, stalled mid-air and crash-landed at Chibuyu in the Luunga area of Binga under chief Sinakatenge.

The aircraft fell between Mujere and Chibuyu fishing camps in Binga Rural District Council.

The plane is said to have left Kariba Airport at 8.45am on Wednesday with the four people on board.

The pilot reportedly struggled with the plane before it nosedived to the ground and hit a few trees as it came to a halt.

It is believed the pilot may have tried to guide the plane to a dust road after the engine stalled, but failed.

Said a source: “The aircraft had a pilot and three passengers when its engine failed and it crash landed in an area called Chibuyu. There were no deaths or serious injuries to the occupants except for the pilot who sustained some cuts on the leg.”

They were rescued and transported to a camp in Sengwa for first aid before they were ferried by a boat to Rhino Camp and later transferred to a health facility in Kariba.

The plane was reportedly headed for Sijarira Forests on the south western shores of Lake Kariba which is a hit with wilderness-loving tourists with the game viewing, fishing and swimming opportunities in the area.